Exhibition looks at how Shakespeare began to write

Curators are putting together an exhibition that aims to show people how William Shakespeare came to write his plays.

The exhibition, called Becoming Shakespeare, opens in Stratford-upon-Avon later this month.

It has been described as a look at the influences that helped to shape the dramatist when he was young, and what inspired him to create his work.

Rachael North, chief executive of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, said it would focus on the playwright's "formative years".

She said visitors would be able to "feel a personal connection to the beginnings of his extraordinary journey".

Bradley Wynne, creative director at Sarner International, which has been working on designs for the exhibition, said Shakespeare's Birthplace, in the Warwickshire town, was "one of the most literary heritage sites in the world".

The exhibition opens on 24 May and organisers said prebooking was recommended.

The Shakespeare's Birthplace website describes how the bard was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564.

His father was a glove-maker, holding civic positions in the town, which meant he was likely to have sent his children to the local grammar school.

The young writer would have lived with his family at their Henley Street house, until he turned 18.

He then married Anne Hathaway, who was eight years older than him and already pregnant when they tied the knot.

Experts have said it is a mystery how he got to London, but by 1592 his reputation in the capital was established.

His success made him "considerably wealthy" and he went on to buy the largest house in the borough of Stratford.

Researchers now believe Shakespeare spent more time in Stratford than previously thought, lodging in London and dividing his time between his hometown and the capital, in what could have been a two or three-day commute.

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